Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bristol grades C− overall, ranked 112th of 175 in Tennessee, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Natural-hazard risk is low and it has 38 miles of trail. On the other side, residents are less healthy than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Bristol’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Bristol has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bristol Municipal Stadium and Bristol Virginia-Tennessee Slogan Sign. Among 177 Tennessee towns, just 6 have a lower January low than Bristol.
Where Bristol beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,647 in 1880, 27,147 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 6 maps from 1934 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Bristol is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bristol, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bristol.
Bristol carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Tennessee (mostly inland flooding), sends many workers across the state line to Bristol and fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #2 of 177 in Tennessee.
Slagle Hollow, at 1,336 acres with 16 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Slagle Hollow | 16 mi | 1,336 |
| 2. Trinkle Hollow | 6.6 mi | 761 |
| 3. Whitetop Creek Park | 1.5 mi | 52 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its B+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Walnut Hill (C+) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Bristol school district. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Tennessee Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 871 | B+ |
| Tennessee High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,146 | B |
| Holston View ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 307 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Within Tennessee it is less healthy than 54% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
31% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Bristol, above both Tennessee’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (23%). 13% of Bristol adults binge drink. Bristol beats the Tennessee average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Bristol | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bristol | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.4% | 76.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of Tennessee towns, with expected losses of about $159 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Bristol’s FEMA risk score is 14 of 100. Since 1979, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bristol.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 37.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 69% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 904 to 613 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Bristol is 18.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Bristol | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.4 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Bristol home is worth about $235,000, down 1% in a year, 29% below the Tennessee typical home.
| Bristol | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $842 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 65% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 26.5°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 94% of Tennessee places with climate records; July afternoons average 85.9°.
Bristol has chilly winters and warm summers. About 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
27% of working residents cross a state line to work, Bristol among the top destinations.
About one in 4 of Bristol’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Johnson City (12%), Bristol (11%) and Kingsport (9%). Half commute less than 13 miles.
| Bristol | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bristol has grown 3.7% since 2020, to 28,107 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 20% of residents are under 18 in Bristol. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Bristol | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.1 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.1 points). Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Bristol | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.8% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.7% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.5% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bristol. Close and well known come first.
38 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
38 mi MountainGrandfather Mountain
9 mi National forestCherokee National Forest
38 mi MountainMount Rogers20 mi Park & preserveGray Fossil Site32 mi Theme parkLand of OzBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Grandfather Mountain: Original uploader was KyleAndMelissa22 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Cherokee National Forest: Ryan Rice at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Rogers: USDA-FS, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bristol
About 5 of every 100 Bristol residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
11.7% of the town is conserved land, across 12 parks and preserves.
11 places in Bristol on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Bristol.
City in Tennessee, United States
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. Bristol, TN and Bristol, VA are two separate, though unified, twin cities. They share a unified metropolitan area, meaning they function as one community with a shared State Street as their main dividing line, but have separate governments, police departments, and libraries. It is a principal city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bristol.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | #112 | C− | B− | C− | B+ | C− |
| Walnut Hill | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Blountville | #89 | C | B+ | — | C+ | D |
| Bluff City | — | — | B+ | C | C+ | C |
Walnut Hill and Bluff City have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Walnut Hill and Blountville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bristol with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bristol grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #112 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
21 notable people were born here, including Jayma Mays and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
